We are thrilled to unveil the outstanding chocolatiers who have triumphed in the Italian/Mediterranean Craft Chocolatier Competition 2023. Held in the picturesque city of Florence, Italy, between March and April 2023, this highly anticipated event celebrated the rich flavors and influences of the Mediterranean region.
The competition brought together an array of talented chocolate companies from Italy and countries around the Mediterranean. It served as a platform to showcase their passion, creativity, and dedication to the craft of chocolate-making.
With its unique combination of cultures and ingredients inspired by the bountiful Mediterranean sea, this competition exemplifies the harmonious fusion of flavors that captivate chocolate enthusiasts worldwide.
The winners of this Italian/Mediterranean Craft Chocolatier Competition will advance to the highly anticipated World Final, scheduled for later in 2023. This extraordinary achievement propels them onto the global stage, where they will compete with the finest chocolatiers from around the world.
Traceability
Continuing our efforts to make the Awards more transparent, we keep emphasizing the importance of working with traceable cacao across the whole of the competitions. Our filled chocolate competitions, now called “Craft Chocolatier Competitions”, demonstrate an increasing focus on cacao sourcing and traceability. This new traceability policy reflects not only current trends in craft chocolate, but also our own founding philosophy and focus on fine cacao.
- Winners
- Finalists
- Judges
- Grand Jury
Judges
The judges were drawn from local experts, food journalists and pastry chefs and members of our permanent international Grand Jury and guest judges.
Obsessed with quality
Spanning over 20 categories, the competition recognized exceptional craftsmanship in various craft chocolatier products, including delectable filled chocolates/bonbons, mouthwatering pralines, tantalizing enrobed fruits and nuts, and irresistibly rich chocolate spreads. In addition, the competition showcased flavored bars made with both couverture and bean-to-bar chocolate, revealing the depth of talent and innovation within the industry.
What truly sets the Italian/Mediterranean Craft Chocolatier Competition apart is the remarkable obsession demonstrated by chocolatiers in the region to seeking the highest quality ingredients, sourced locally whenever possible, and their products infused with wisdom and harmony. Each creation is a testament to their sense of aesthetics, embodying the richness of history while embracing a contemporary touch.
Highest scores
We are delighted to acknowledge the achievements of the winners, who captivated the judges with their exceptional creations. The level of expertise displayed is truly remarkable, with an impressive 19 products scoring over 90 points. Among the highest-scoring entries, we congratulate Guido Castagna from Italy, whose exquisite “Giuinott” achieved an outstanding score of 94.2 points. Additionally, congratulations to Bellantoni Cioccolato for their unique white chocolate covered pine nut dragée flavored with chamomile, scoring an impressive 93.2 points. Such exceptional scores highlight the dedication and artistry of these talented chocolatiers.
Winners’ Celebration
The winners will also be presented live at the prestigious Winners’ Announcement of the European Bars Competition on May 27th in Valencia. This will be celebrated and also broadcasted live on Zoom and Facebook, allowing chocolate enthusiasts from around the world to join in the excitement.
Once again, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners of the Italian/Mediterranean Craft Chocolatier Competition. Your creativity, passion, and commitment to excellence have elevated the craft of chocolate-making, and we eagerly anticipate witnessing your continued success on the global stage.
Stay tuned for more updates and join us on 27 May 2023 to celebrate the best in craft chocolate!
Prizes
The categories judged included flavoured chocolate bars, filled chocolates, enrobed fruits and nuts and chocolate spreads, as well as flavoured bars (not bean-to-bar) and are based on yearly feedback from our entrants and in consultation with the fine chocolate industry. All judging is anonymised, including at the Grand Jury final session, where Golds, Silver and Bronze prizes are awarded by private voting according to the Grand Jury rules.
Awards are awarded only to entries that meet the required standard for each prize.
(Prizes are shown in score order for each medal)Flavoured bars
Dark chocolate bars with inclusions or pieces
Bronze: Pasticceria Vacchieri Marco - Dolci Intuizioni (Italy) - Tavoletta con caramello alla menta (84.9)
Milk chocolate bars with an infusion or flavouring
Bronze: Kaitxo (Spain) - Etxeko Masala (84.9)
Milk chocolate bars with inclusions or pieces
Gold: Kaitxo (Spain) - TXOKOLATE CON LECHE, REGALIZ&VIOLETAS (90.4)
White chocolate bars with an infusion or flavouring
Gold: Cioccolato Gourmet (Italy) - Tavoletta Bianco Caramello e Liquirizia (89.1)
Silver: T'a Milano (Italy) - Tavoletta Caramello e Sale delle Hawaii (86.3)
White chocolate bars with inclusions or pieces
Gold: Caon Chocolate (Italy) - PeperHome (90.1)
Silver: Bruno Chocolate (Israel) - Tiras Bar (89.9)
Silver: Bruno Chocolate (Israel) - Yuzu Basilic (88.7)
Ganaches, palets, ganache pralines and truffles
Unflavoured dark chocolate ganaches or truffles
Gold: Pietro Macellaro Pasticceria Agricola Cilentana (Italy) - Piura Buffalo Cream (89.4) (**)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Silver: Giuseppe Manilia (Italy) - TARTUFO (88.0)
Bronze: Depetris Riccardo / Depetris...i Ciculaté (Italy) - L'ALTERNATIVE - PATAXTE (84.6)
Flavoured dark chocolate ganaches or truffles
Gold: Depetris Riccardo / Depetris...i Ciculaté (Italy) - Mucillago (92.6) (**)
+ Special: Innovation
Silver: Monia Achille (Italy) - Karkadè (88.0)
Bronze: Gardini (Italy) - Pralina Alkermes (85.4)
Flavoured white chocolate ganaches or truffles
Gold: TORTAPISTOCCHI-FIRENZE® (Italy) - TortaPistocchi® Albicocca e Cognac (92.3)
Silver: Stefania Massera - Pasticceria Gino Massera (Italy) - TORTA DLA NONA (90.9)
+ Special: Reinterpretation
Flavoured ganaches or truffles with combination coating or filling
Gold: Stefania Massera - Pasticceria Gino Massera (Italy) - SISTER ROSE (92.3)
Silver: Stefania Massera - Pasticceria Gino Massera (Italy) - Elvina Agrumata (91.7)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Silver: Stefania Massera - Pasticceria Gino Massera (Italy) - Nocelvo (91.4)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Silver: Monia Achille (Italy) - 24K (90.3)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Silver: Stefania Massera - Pasticceria Gino Massera (Italy) - DARKELVO (89.3)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Silver: Eddy Silva (Italy) - Bollicina di mozzarella (87.9)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Nuts
Nut based pralines with dark chocolate
Gold: Guido Castagna (Italy) - GIUINOTT (94.2) (**)
+ Special: Gianduiotto
Silver: Pasticceria Vacchieri Marco - Dolci Intuizioni (Italy) - Nocciolino Caramellato (87.5)
Dark chocolate enrobed marzipan
Gold: Pietro Macellaro Pasticceria Agricola Cilentana (Italy) - Violetta (92.6) (**)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Silver: Pietro Macellaro Pasticceria Agricola Cilentana (Italy) - Origano selvatico di montagna e limone (91.7) (**)
Nut based pralines with milk chocolate
Gold: Bellantoni Cioccolato (Italy) - Cremino Noccioloro al pepe rosa (90.3)
Silver: Pietro Macellaro Pasticceria Agricola Cilentana (Italy) - Chocolate Crunch (88.2) (**)
Nut based pralines with white chocolate
Gold: Gardini (Italy) - Cremino Pistacchio (89.9)
Silver: Caon Chocolate (Italy) - Matcha Love (87.3)
White chocolate dragées, enrobed whole nuts
Gold: Bellantoni Cioccolato (Italy) - Dragées Pinolo alla camomilla (93.2)
Silver: TORTAPISTOCCHI-FIRENZE® (Italy) - Drageès Pistacchio TortaPistocchi® (87.5)
Nut based pralines with combination chocolate
Gold: Gardini (Italy) - Cremino Liquirizia (91.9)
Silver: Gardini (Italy) - Cremino Amarena (91.1)
Silver: Varvaro (Italy) - Cremino a Tre Strati (89.9)
Silver: Depetris Riccardo / Depetris...i Ciculaté (Italy) - Persi Pien (88.1) (**)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Silver: Gardini (Italy) - Cremino Noci di Romagna (87.5)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Silver: Varvaro (Italy) - Cremino Pistacchio e Nocciole (86.4)
Bronze: Depetris Riccardo / Depetris...i Ciculaté (Italy) - passione Langhe (84.5) (**)
Combination chocolate dragées, enrobed whole nuts
Gold: Bellantoni Cioccolato (Italy) - Cremino Oro verde (89.2)
Others - fruit/sugar/butter/cream/misc
Dark chocolate enrobed whole fruit
Gold: Falicetto Cioccolato Puro Piacenza (Italy) - Sgranfgnòn - Boero (92.2)
+ Special: Local ingredients
+ Special: Classic
Bronze: Pietro Macellaro Pasticceria Agricola Cilentana (Italy) - Ciliegia al Cognac (85.9) (**)
Milk chocolate enrobed whole fruit
Silver: Maychoco (Spain) - Mango y chocolate con leche 55% cacao. (88.9) (**)
+ Special: Local ingredients
White chocolate enrobed whole fruit
Silver: Maychoco (Spain) - Mango con chocolate Blanco Butter to bar (87.2) (**)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Other fillings with milk chocolate
Silver: Bellantoni Cioccolato (Italy) - Dragées al pepe rosa (86.2)
Other fillings with white chocolate
Gold: Bellantoni Cioccolato (Italy) - Dragées Tiramisù Honduras (91.5)
+ Special: Reinterpretation
Silver: Bellantoni Cioccolato (Italy) - Dragées Wild Cuzco (86.9)
Silver: Bellantoni Cioccolato (Italy) - Dragées Cheesecake alla fragola (86.6)
+ Special: Reinterpretation
Spreads
Spreads with dark chocolate (no milk powder)
Gold: Guido Castagna (Italy) - +55 - CREMA DI NOCCIOLE (92.9) (**)
Spreads with milk chocolate
Gold: Pasticceria Vacchieri Marco - Dolci Intuizioni (Italy) - Crema GIANDUIA (89.6)
Silver: Monia Achille (Italy) - Me (87.2)
+ Special: Local ingredients
Bronze: Rivoire (Italy) - Crema Nocciola Piemonte IGP Cusco (85.9) (**)
Bronze: Rivoire (Italy) - Crema Nocciola Piemonte IGP (84.7) (**)
(*) Declared chocolate maker for private label bars. (**) Winner has declared the product is made with their own bean-to-bar chocolate or couverture.
